• 🏪 C-Store Beer Sales up +5% in Q3
• 🗳️ Confirmed: BUG Challenges Election Process
• 🇬🇧 Non-Alc on Draft a Rare Sight Internationally
• 🏭 Pike Brewing Readies New Production Facility
• 🎃 Numerator Pre-Halloween Data Dive
• 🗽 Great Lakes Enters NYC
• 🐟 SweetWater Announces Fall Lineup

You’ve probably heard it a thousand times. Read your malt certificate of analysis. Read your COA! Read your COA! Read your COA! But why? After all, malt is malt, right? Especially once you have your brewhouse dialed in. Well, there is a lot more to malt than meets the eye, and much of the information on a malt’s COA relates to how well things do or don’t work in the brewhouse. Learn more

Beer category sales in convenience stores were up +5% in Q3, a slight acceleration, and retailers project the category to grow +6% this year (up from +3% outlook in Q2) and +4% in 2024, according to the latest Beverage Bytes survey of retailers conducted by Goldman Sachs Equity Research.

Hard seltzers continued to struggle but saw some improvements, -3% (slightly better than -4% the prior quarter) and a -2% decline is expected for the full year, up from a more pessimistic -5% outlook in Q2. 

Segment leader Mark Anthony Brands’ White Claw holds about 60% of the hard seltzer market, with Boston Beer’s Truly Hard Seltzer in second place at roughly 24% share. Around 78% of respondents said Truly is still not improving despite new packaging and marketing campaigns.

One respondent said: “There is room for only one hard seltzer band in the c-store channel” and Truly “will likely be more prominent in the grocery channel.”

Retailers are overwhelmingly positive about Boston Beer’s Twisted Tea. More than half (56%) of respondents said they expect Twisted Tea sales to slow throughout the end of the year due to seasonality, the “growing popularity of higher ABV beverages,” and the “law of large numbers,” because the brand has been “growing at >30% levels for the past four years.” 

One-third of respondents said they believe the brand will maintain momentum and another 11% said they think it will accelerate.

Still, some retailers believe “an eventual slowdown is inevitable given increased competition in the category. That competition includes Monster’s Nasty Beast Hardcore Iced Tea, slated to roll out later this year, which has garnered a “positive” response from “all retailers” in the survey. 

However, 57% of respondents said they do not expect Nasty Beast to steal share from Twisted Tea. One respondent said Nasty Beast will not be “a true competitor in the hard tea space” and another said it will not “make a big dent at least initially.”

Brewbound Insiders can read more here about Bud Light’s stabilization and fluctuations within the energy drink category.

The Brewing Union of Georgia (BUG) has “filed objections” with the National Labor Relations Board following a failed election earlier this month to formalize a union at Athens-based Creature Comforts Brewing Co., BUG confirmed to Brewbound.

Creature Comforts announced the election results – 21 votes in favor of formalization and 32 against – last week, saying in a statement that the company was “pleased, but not surprised” by the results.

BUG is claiming that Creature Comfort’s actions and “violations of the National Labor Relations Act” this year during the election campaign “tainted the process and prevented us from having a free and fair election.” 

In a statement shared with Brewbound, BUG said: “Creature leadership knows this, of course, but has to posture as being morally superior at any possible chance. 

“The company did not respect the voice of workers when over 70% of the proposed unit signed cards specifically asking to be represented by the union. Creature did not respect workers when we submitted a unit composition that included workers throughout the company that share common values, responsibilities, spaces, and needs. Instead the company started this process by forcing the union to an unnecessary pre-election hearing in order to delay the election and by accusing workers of having no understanding of unions or the unionization process.”

The two-day pre-election hearing took place in February. However, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) did not release a verdict until August, ruling that an election should be held. 

BUG continued: “The National Labor Relations Board ruled otherwise in total agreement with the union's proposed makeup, but unfortunately this process took the underfunded and understaffed labor board far longer than normal in a time when workers all over are thankfully learning to stand up for themselves and each other.

“BUG has raised its objections to the election process due to the aggression towards and termination of pro-union workers that were willing to be seen and heard. Through these hostile actions and myriad more, Creature cultured an atmosphere of discomfort and fear while actively spreading misinformation about both our union and unions as a whole.”

Insiders can read BUG’s full statement and catch up on Brewbound’s reporting on the union formalization process here.

The U.S. is still lagging behind the U.K. when it comes to the assortment of NA beer in on-premise retailers, Matthew Crompton, regional director for North America at NIQ on-premise arm CGA, said during the Beer Institute’s Annual Meeting earlier this month in Denver. 

Education and removing whatever stigma still exists around NA beer will be the key to closing those gaps, he added.

Asked if NA beer on draft is more prevalent in the U.K., Crompton noted that it’s pretty rare to see NA beer on draft. In the U.S., some brewers have attempted NA beer on draft. 

Paul Gatza, Brewers Association senior VP of the professional brewing division, chimed in that there is research being done by the food science lab at Oregon State University and the trade group is cautioning its members “to wait a little bit ’til that research is done.”

Athletic Brewing Company tested its first kegs in New York City in March.

Seattle’s Pike Brewing decommissioned its original production brewery last week as it prepares to move to a new facility in a different neighborhood.

The new brewery, in Seattle’s SoDo district, can produce 12,000 barrels annually, with the ability to stretch to 22,000 barrels, a Pike spokesperson told Brewbound. It is scheduled to open in January 2024.

Pike Pub and Pike Fish Bar, Pike’s own-premise spaces at its original location, will remain open, and the new brewery will not have a taproom.

The 34-year-old craft brewery will hire an additional three production employees, the spokesperson said.

Founder Charles Finkel said: "The decision to move our brewing operations to a new facility was not made lightly. We have cherished the memories, the community, and the history that has been made at our current location. However, we are excited about the endless possibilities that our new facility will offer as we continue to produce exceptional craft beer."

Data insights firm Numerator’s Halloween survey found that 61% of consumers plan to celebrate All Hallows Eve, down from 65% in 2022. Numerator polled around 4,500 consumers.

Of note for bev-alc producers, purchasing alcohol isn’t high on the list of those who do plan to celebrate the spooky season. Just 17% of celebrators plan to buy alcoholic beverages, far behind other key purchases such as candy (80%), decorations (45%), costumes (45%) and food (36%). 

Cleveland’s Great Lakes Brewing Company is rounding out its New York distribution with the addition of New York City. 

S.K.I. Beer Distributors began distributing Great Lakes products – including the rollout of the brewery’s key seasonal release Christmas Ale – in the city this week.

• Other Great Lakes beers in the launch include Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, Vivacious Double IPA and Midwest IPA.

Great Lakes has been in New York for several years, but the company called the NYC addition “a significant and strategic step to expand its distribution footprint.”

Chris Brown, Great Lakes VP of sales, said: “S.K.I. was the choice that made the most sense to us. With their energetic sales leadership and portfolio fit, we believe their partnership will drive our business in a highly competitive market for years to come. We look forward to working with their amazing sales force to finally bring Great Lakes beer to the five boroughs and Long Island.”

Tilray Brands announced the fall lineup of SweetWater Brewing beers today, which includes:

• Georgia Brown Ale (5.8% ABV) on draft, 6-pack cans and in the fall variety 12-pack;
• Mosaic Single Hop Hazy IPA (6.2% ABV) and Brewer’s Batch Golden Ale (4.5% ABV), which will both be in the fall variety pack;
• Fresh Sticky Nugs Hazy Double IPA on draft, and 16 oz. can 4-packs;
• And a new IPA variety pack featuring Brewer’s Batch IPA (6.4% ABV), H.A.Z.Y. IPA (6.2% ABV), Gone Trippin’ West Coast IPA (7% ABV), and G13 IPA (6% ABV).

Tilray president of beer Ty Gilmore said: “Our new fall lineup features a strong blend of time-honored favorites and delicious new brews that are perfect for the season, whether you’re watching football, winding down after a day outdoors, or enjoying a crisp evening with friends. And while we are focused on innovation, it’s been just as rewarding to bring back cult classics from our past in response to popular demand.”

Crowns & Hops founders Beny Ashburn and Teo Hunter will kick off the second day of Brewbound Live on December 7, sharing their journey to opening a brewery in Inglewood, California.

Following Ashburn and Hunter’s opening remarks on Day 2, they will be joined on stage by National Black Brewers Association (NB2A) executive director Kevin Asato to share the continuity of their respective missions, how they’re gaining traction and making an impact.

The NB2A launched earlier this year with a mission to advocate for African-American brewers and brewery owners, who account for less than 1% of craft breweries in the U.S.

Crowns & Hops runs the 8 Trill Pils development fund, which creates opportunities for Black-owned craft beer brands and demonstrates racial equality’s benefits and fiscal impacts.

Ashburn, Hunter and Asato join a list of industry leaders who will take part in Brewbound Live December 6 + 7 at the Marina Del Rey Marriott Hotel (4100 Admiralty Way, Marina Del Rey, CA). Tickets are available now.

The Brewbound Live business conference returns December 6-7 in Marina del Rey. More speakers and conversations to be announced in the coming weeks. 

Registration and the discounted room block is now open. Find out more details here.